Pharmacists Fault National Health Insurance Scheme

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has described as monumental fraud, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and requested that its participants and Nigerians at large demand for their right to qualitative healthcare.

According to The Tide’s source, the scheme is with good intentions, but the implementation has been faulty and fraudulent.

The National Chairman, Mrs Ejiro Foyibo, stated that the NHIS was meant to address the problems of healthcare funding in Nigeria, thereby making healthcare accessible, qualitative and affordable to Nigerians.

“Today, the reverse is the case. I boldly say that NHIS is a fraud. The pharmacists, physiotherapists, laboratory technicians have all been sidelined in the operations of the scheme.

“A situation where consultations, prescription, laboratory investigations, physiotherapy and dispensing of drugs are carried out by the same person is not in the best interest of the patient.

“It is unethical and exploitative. Nigerians, who are enrollees of the NHIS, should rise and ask questions on the functionality of the NHIS. We as pharmacists say no to global capitation,” she stated.

Foyibo said Nigerians do not know how to demand for their rights, “Hence operators of NHIS cheat them by prescribing cheap drugs for them. Most of the enrollees come to us professionals and obtain good quality drugs.

“More worrisome is the inability of most Nigerians to interpret what they read (prescriptions). Nigerians need to be more enlightened in order to enjoy good pharmaceutical care.

“It is sad that some private hospitals have what they term pharmacy, but most do not meet the standard. For instance, Lagos State is hosting over 100,000 unregistered pharmaceutical premises.

“Meanwhile, there are only 2,000 pharmaceutical premises registered in the state by the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN), and that is representative of what obtains in other states of the Federation.

“This is responsible for the many ill health and diseases affecting Nigerians. The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) should close down these illegal premises so as to save Nigeria from the dangers inherent there of,” she said.